ABA Techshow 2014: All You Need to Know

At the end of the month, tech-minded lawyers and legal professionals will descend upon Chicago for the annual ABA Techshow. If you’re not familiar with it, Techshow is a legal technology conference sponsored the the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section and its goal is “to bring lawyers and technology together.” Here’s everything you need to know if you’ll be attending the conference.

The schedule

This year looks to be as full of useful seminars and great networking events as ever. The CLE schedule includes seminars on mobile technologies and apps, cloud computing, social media, paperless offices, and collaboration tools and techniques. The entire conference schedule can be found here. And, for first time attendees, the ABA offer this very helpful guide to the conference.

The app

The ABA also offers a handy conference app (which they’ll be updating for this year’s conference in the very near future) which includes the full schedule, a list of exhibitors, and more. You can download the Android app here and the iOS app here.

The EXPO Hall

If exploring all of the latest legal technology offerings is your thing, then Techshow is the place for you! The EXPO Hall will be right up your alley and even if you don’t plan to attend the conference, you can still visit the EXPO Hall by picking up a free EXPO Hall pass here.

And, if you’re in the market for law practice management software, don’t forget to stop by and visit MyCase at booth 214, grab a glass of beer (on Thursday), charge your mobile device, and sign up to win prizes, including an Amazon gift card!

The pre-conference conference

Also, be sure to arrive on Wednesday so you can attend Lexthink.1, an outside-the-box mini-conference held on the eve of Techshow at 7 pm on March 26th at the Chicago Hilton. This year’s theme is “it’s the end of irrelevance,” and, along with 9 other speakers, MyCase’s very own Matt Spiegel will give a 6 minute talk “You Are Not Irrelevant.” Get your tickets here.

Parties

Of course, there’s more to Techshow than just the sessions and the EXPO Hall– networking and having fun are just as important. And there are plenty of opportunities for both!

First, on Wednesday night, Lexis Nexis is hosting a reception on March 26th at 6 pm right before Lexthink.1 (in the room next to where Lexthink.1 is being held).

Next, on Thursday March 27th after the official ABA Techshow welcome reception at 5:00 pm in the EXPO Hall, don’t miss MyCase’s Law and Disorder party on Thursday March 27th at 8 pm at Buddy Guy’s Legends. You can learn more about the event here and if you’d like to attend, drop me an email and I’ll have an invite sent out to you (niki.invite.rsvp@gmail.com), but hurry–there’s not much room left!

On Friday night March 28th from 5:30-7pm, the annual “Beer for Blawggers” event will be held in the Hilton Chicago’s Lakeside Green Lounge.

Dinner Plans

Finally, when it comes to dinners, you’ve got a lot to choose from! First, Carolyn Elefant and I are co-hosting a dinner on Thursday night at 6:00 pm: Wine and Dine Offline in Chicago. If you’d like to attend, drop me an email (niki.invite.rsvp@gmail.com) and I’ll have an invite sent out to you, but hurry–there are only a few spots left!

And last, but certainly not least, are the Taste of Techshow dinnerswhich are hosted by this year’s Techshow speakers. The dinners are held on Thursday and Friday nights and you can sign up once you arrive at the conference.

So there you have it–the scoop on Techshow 2014! Safe travels and can’t wait to see you there!

Nicole Black is an attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase. Her legal career spans nearly two decades and she has extensive litigation experience. She was named an inaugural ABA Legal Rebel in 2009 and an inaugural Fastcase 50 in 2011. She is also a well known legal technology author, journalist, and speaker. She wrote "Computing for Lawyers" (2012) and co-authored "Social Media: The Next Frontier" (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authors "Criminal Law in New York," a Thomson West treatise. She often speaks at conferences about the intersection of law, mobile computing and Internet-based technology. She can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.